Samsung Spinpoint M7 640GB 2.5-inch hard-drive debuts

Samsung have announced their latest 2.5-inch hard-drive, and while it may not be a fashionable SSD it does at least have capacity going for it. The Samsung Spinpoint M7 packs 640GB into its dual-platter design, with 5,400rpm spin speed.

The new drive is possible because Samsung have managed to squeeze more data density onto their platters; in fact, they’ve managed a 28-percent increase over their previous 500GB high-end 2.5-inch drive. The 640GB M7 is also reasonably shock resistant, and while you won’t be seeing it in rugged computers it should be able to survive some ultraportable use.

There’s also 8MB cache and a 3.0Gbps SATA interface. The new Samsung Spinpoint M7 640GB drive will begin shipping in the US and Europe this month, priced at an altogether reasonable $149.99.

Seoul (Korea Newswire) September 09, 2009 11:06 AM — Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in digital consumer electronics and information technology, today announced its new 640-Gigabyte (GB) 2.5-inch Spinpoint M7 internal hard disk drive. The new 640GB hard drive, now the top-density drive of the popular M7 family, has an areal density of 516-Gigabit per square inch for each 320GB platter, which is a 28 percent increase per platter over Samsung’s previous density-leading 500GB hard drive. Samsung’s new Spinpoint M7 model is designed for high-end mobile computing applications requiring greater shock resistance without a compromise in performance.

“With the addition of the new internal drive to the M7 series, our customers will get the best viable combination of density, performance and reliability that is essential for high-end notebooks and mobile applications,” said C.H. Lee, vice president, Storage sales & marketing, Samsung Electronics. “Samsung maximizes the density level of its platters to enhance the reliability and stability of its internal hard drives.”

Increasing the areal density of 516-Gigabit per square inch raises the total drive capacity without adding additional platters. By maximizing capacity without increasing mechanical parts, the two-platter 640GB drive has lower power consumption levels and higher operational stability compared to drives with a higher number of platters.

The new M7 drive offers a shock resistance level of 400G (2ms) in operation mode and 900G (1ms) when the power is off. An optimized system-on-chip controller reduces the power consumption in both seek and idle modes to the lowest level among comparable drives.

The Spinpoint M7 utilizes Samsung’s proprietary SilentSeek™ and NoiseGuard™ technologies to minimize noise-levels during drive operation. The halogen-free drive complies with the European Union’s Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS).

The Spinpoint M7 series, which is available in 160-, 250-, 320-, 500- and 640-GB capacities, offers a rotational speed of 5400RPM, a 3.0Gbps SATA interface, Native Command Queuing and an 8MB cache memory.

Initial shipments will be available in Europe and the U.S. from mid September, with worldwide availability starting from late September. The 640GB Spinpoint M7 will begin shipping with a MSRP of $149.99.